[mtnandy]

Trust me- there is plenty of beer available in Texas, from excellent to poor quality.

Agreed. The beer scene here in Houston has absolutely exploded in the past couple of years. The only problem is, because Texas is such a huge market (I read somewhere that it's the largest market in the US), most of these breweries don't have the capacity to distribute out of state. So, many people who live outside of Texas see it as a beer "wasteland" because they never see Texas brews on their shelves or on tap. If I remember correctly, Shiner and Real Ale are the only ones who have a nationwide distribution.